Alma 29:9

"I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do not glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yeah, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy."

Monday, April 18, 2016

I'm writing this email while I'm on a spiritual/missionary/gospel high, so be prepared. ;D ha ha. There were some definite ups and downs this week, but the ups make the downs pale in comparison.

First off, a few unique things we did this week: - Ward chili cook-off...we got to be the judges! 'Twas delicious. - Meet the Mormons movie night! We helped with popping the popcorn...living the dream!- Got to teach seminary and tell the stories of how we decided to serve missions....definitely a highlight!

We have this really awesome investigator, and her name in Cathy. She's had a few baptismal dates in the past, but when her son passed away a month ago, she wanted to postpone her date. She believes all of it though--she's even watched several conference talks. When we saw her this past week, we watched the talk by Elder Paul V. Johnson (PS he is President Johnson's brother!!) called "And there shall be no more death". It was such a powerful moment because I felt the spirit so strongly. One thing I have come to know with unshaken faith is that the plan of salvation is REAL. We WILL see our loved ones again. This faith has been tested this week in other ways, as you'll find out in a minute.

The Spirit is INCREDIBLE. Honestly, it is what makes or breaks missionary work. Without it, we can't do anything. I absolutely ADORE moments in lessons when something comes to my mind that I should say/share, and I do, and it is exactly what they needed at that moment. But it's not me. It's 100% the Spirit. There's this lady named Milly that we are trying to help come back to church who we taught this week. After being prompted to by the spirit I shared a quote by Elder Holland, and it was perfect for her. Our Heavenly Father truly knows each of us individually and loves us perfectly.

" . . . However late you think you are, however many chances you think you have missed, however many mistakes you feel you have made or talents you think you don’t have, or however far from home and family and God you feel you have traveled, I testify that you have not traveled beyond the reach of divine love. It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ’s Atonement shines." Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

Another amazing moment with the Spirit. We have another investigator named Vanita. We saw her this week and taught her the Restoration. We taught from the pamphlet, and when we teach it, we usually have them read Joseph Smith's account of the first vision, but this time I decided to recite it as I looked into her eyes. The Spirit filled the room and I felt it from head to toe. She could feel it too--it was one of the most powerful moments thus far on my mission.

We had to lean on our faith in the plan of salvation more this weekend as a member of our ward passed away Saturday morning. Her name was Wendy, and she was amazing. I barely knew her, but I know she had turned her life around very recently, had become active in the church, and just
went through the Temple the week before. Sister Smith had such a hand in
that, and she was devastated with the news (Please pray for her-she is having
a really hard time with it). My heart broke too, though I had only seen her a
handful of times. She was only in her 50's and this came out of nowhere.
She has been in a lot of pain due to health problems, but we had no idea she
would be called Home so soon. Regretfully, Wendy had invited us over on Friday to see her and her grandkids, but we had other things planned so we
didn't go. Wishing we would have made time for her, but now it's too late.
As hard as it is, I know unshakenly that God is the One in control. He is and
He always will be. Yesterday we had Stake Conference, and it was incredible.
We sang in the choir and all thought of Wendy as we did. She loved singing in
the choir; it had changed her life. We sang for her, and it felt like she was there.

Another member of the ward also passed away this weekend, her name was Dorene. Hers was more expected due to the cancer that had overtaken her body in a short amount of time. Both Dorene and Wendy were in a lot of pain in this life, but now they are no longer suffering. With all this that has happened, and the passing of Sister Wells two months ago, I have come to gain unshaken faith in the plan of salvation. It is REAL.

Last night, we participated in another "Why I Believe" fireside. Sister Johnson asked me to sing a musical number, so we drove to Plum (close-ish to Pittsburgh) to sing there. Unfortunately, President Johnson wasn't feeling well (we found out later he had a kidney stone, poor man) so we had to go forward with the fireside without he and Sister Johnson. All was well, though. I sang with the other missionaries in the choir, and also a solo: "Blessed Be His Name" (written by Tyler Castleton, sung by Jenny Phillips). The members and the missionaries loved it. The Spirit carried the message of that song to the hearts of those listening. It was a beautiful experience and I felt blessed to be able to be there and share.

This gospel is SO true. It is life changing. And I love it. I also love you with all of my heart. I hope you have a wonderful week!

Monday, April 11, 2016

First let me explain this week's caption...You aren't going to believe this actually happened this week...

We were teaching this less-active named Lony. We were going over the restoration with her, and teaching her from the pamphlet. The front of the pamphlet has a picture of the Savior holding a baby lamb...this was our conversation:

"Lony, what do you think of when you see this picture of Jesus?"

"You know, it reminds me of a baby..."

"Oh...(thinking awh, that's sweet)"

"...with the nose of an elephant. With little tiny elephant hands. I saw it on the Internet somewhere..."

At this point I was mustering every part of me not to bust up laughing like crazy...we were able to get through the lesson and it ended up going well. But as soon as we stepped outside and were walking to the car, Sister Smith and I couldn't stop laughing...for about 10 minutes. Definitely in the top 10 funniest moments so far on my mission. Bless the hearts of these Pennsylvanians.

Anywho. 'Twas a good week. We taught 12 LARC (less-active/recent convert) lessons! It has been a while since I've been able to do that. It felt super great. Other than that, not a whole lot happened. I experienced my first Sunday in the ward, and though it was hard looking around and hardly knowing anyone, it went well! I'm excited to get to know the members here and work with them to bring souls to Christ.

I don't really have much to report on this week, but I really do love my mission. It is the best decision I have made, though it's the hardest thing I've ever done. Missionary work is exhausting and exhilarating at the same time--I just love it! It is the opportunity of a lifetime to study and teach and testify of the life of the Savior. I love Him with all of my heart. There is a feeling of constantly wanting to be better, but it's pushing me stretch and inspiring me to become the best version of myself. Nothing like being on the steep end of the learning curve.

On a random note, I did try some yummy foods this week:

- An absolutely DELICIOUS cinnamon roll at Oram's (one of the top donut places in the country)

- The best fries I have ever had in my life at Heirloom (besides homemade, of course)

- Biscuits and gravy Sister Smith and I made! We were super proud of ourselves. No dinner appointments means see what you have in your kitchen and try to scrounge something up. It was really delicious!

A few other cool things about Beaver I forgot to mention in my other email:

- There's a bridge that's shaped like a Beaver...pictures will come in the near future...

- There are so many cobblestone streets--most of which are original!! It's way cool.

- I am discovering further why I was called to this mission, and even this area: all of the bridges! Ha ha. As you know, I LOVE bridges, and there are SO many here. I am in love.

So, I have a new favorite scripture. It is 2 Nephi 31:20. Lately it has been popping up literally everywhere, so I am taking it as a sign that I need to apply what it teaches.

"Wherefore, ye must press forward with a STEADFASTNESS in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, FEASTING upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life."

Isn't that just amazing? I know it's the theme for the youth this year, which is definitely inspired. On a side note, something that ties in perfectly with this scripture is a video we showed a less-active this week. It's titled "Daily Bread Pattern" by Elder Christoffersen. If you haven't watched it recently, go watch it!! It is fantastic. Also his He stresses something that is so so important: just like our bodies need physical nourishment, our spirits are in need of nourishment EVERY DAY. We aren't asked to nibble on the scriptures like an afternoon snack, but to FEAST on them like a Thanksgiving meal. There's a huge difference. I've noticed it in my life and want to strive always to feast on His words and let them sink deep into my heart and become a part of me.

To update you on the sisters in the accident:

Sister Faamaile: doing well with missionary work here in the PPM

Sister Douglas: recovering at home, and making great improvements

Sister Young: she has been moved to a hospital in Nevada and is going in for another surgery tomorrow due to more complications. Prayers would be greatly appreciated!

I love you all so much and I love this gospel. I love my Savior; I know He lives. We are so blessed to be apart of His church, the true church restored on the earth today.

Monday, April 4, 2016

I have made it through the first week in Beaver! And it is fantastic.
I'm already starting to love it here. Sister Smith is just wonderful
and I am definitely in good hands. She is originally from New Mexico,
but her family moved to Riverton, Utah when she started college at BYU-I
so she will be going home to Utah. It's so weird that she'll be home in 5 weeks.I don't really envy her though. I love Pennsylvania too much. ;)

So, Beaver. I know you're dying to hear all about the area, so here
are some cool things:

- The area that covers this ward is split into two--a set of elders
serve here too (their names are Elder Foster and Elder Pennington).
- We live in Beaver, but don't actually serve in Beaver...we serve in
nearby areas like Beaver Falls, Midland, and New Brighton.
- Our apartment is really nice and spacious. Yes, we have a
piano...but it's terribly out of tune-sad! I'll probably still
play it though...maybe. ;)
- We live right across the street from a run-down train station, but
trains still ride past constantly, so we hear trains zooming past all
the time.
- They actually say "yinz" over here! I had just gotten down "you's",
so now I need to adjust my PA vernacular. ;)
- Pittsburgh is an hour bus ride from Beaver so I'll get to go one of
these P-days! I am so crazy excited!!!

Saying goodbye to Sunbury and Sister Schofield was one of the hardest
things I have ever done, but the Lord has helped me so much. He really
has. I still have moments where I miss my other home, but the Lord is
already making room in my heart for this area, this ward, and
everything else. Along with that, I am further coming to realize that
the Lord really doesn't call the qualified. He doesn't. If He did, we
wouldn't need Him hardly at all. Instead, He promises to qualify the
called...and I am no exception. I am not qualified to serve here and
take over the area in 5 weeks. On my own, I'm not. But if I will do my
part, the Lord will do His and He will qualify me to meet the demands
and expectations of the work here. I am so grateful for His love,
compassion, understanding, and long suffering. I truly need Him every
moment of every day.

When we were walking down the street other day, we bumped into this
guy named Joe. He had a lot of questions about what we do as
missionaries, and then I can't remember how the conversation led this
way, but he said: "Ain't nothin' like the Lord, man." Ha ha can I get
an Amen?! I would definitely have to agree. :D

Miracle that happened this week: we went to see our investigator Erinon Wednesday. Sister Smith and her last companion had only been able
to see her once or twice before (they bumped into her while trying to
find a less-active in the ward), but it had been really hit and miss.
We showed up at her house on Wednesday, and she came out to sit with
us on the porch. We knew something was wrong, so after Sister Smith
asked her, so proceeded to tell us her boyfriend had just passed away
that morning from complications following a heart attack. She burst
into tears, and my heart just broke. I had just met her, but I gave
her a hug as she cried and cried. Sister Smith and I cried with her
and were there right when she needed us the most. We showed her the
"Because He Lives" video, which she really liked. (Later she asked for
then link so she could watch it multiple times.) That moment in time
is yet another testament to me of how infinitely perfect God's timing
is. We walked away and were talking about it, and Sister Smith said
that as soon as she saw my picture on the transfer board, she thought,
I bet she's here for Erin. I am actually starting to feel the same
way. I know I was sent to this area for a reason, and I think she is
one of the reasons.

Conference was incredible, as always. Elder Holland's talk hit home
for me. I still have moments I am hard on myself as a missionary, and
his talk is just what I needed. The Spirit penetrated my heart, and
I'll never forget it. I feel so incredibly blessed to live in the most
blessed time this world has ever known. Especially to having a living
prophet and apostles on the earth today. We are incredibly blessed!!

"With the gift of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the strength of
heaven to help us, we can improve, and the great thing about the
gospel is we get credit for trying, even if we don’t always succeed. …

"Please remember tomorrow, and all the days after that the Lord
blesses those who want to improve, who accept the need for
commandments and try to keep them, who cherish Christlike virtues and
strive to the best of their ability to acquire them. If you stumble in
that pursuit, so does everyone; the Savior is there to help you keep
going. …